Penn State University Press has announced a new series, "Troubling Democracy," which provides a dedicated space for scholars working on the past, present and future of democracy.
Often heralded as an ideal mode of governance, democracy - as ideology and practice - has long been fraught, full of possibilities and failures, great promises and persistent exclusions, according to the series editors, Lisa A. Flores and Christa J. Olson. The editors added that these tensions exist alongside deep scholarly interest and ever-evolving public conversations about democracy attests to a need to trouble - interrupt, refuse, reimagine and reclaim - it.
Intentionally broad, interdisciplinary and global, "Troubling Democracy" invites manuscripts taking a variety of theoretical, critical and methodological perspectives. The editors explained that, if the promise of democracy often suggests narrow modes of governance, this series, premised on simultaneous skepticism and hope, aims to foster critical imaginings that break open democracy's possibilities.
Flores and Olson noted, "As a series, 'Troubling Democracy' cultivates conversation at the nexus of trouble - whether good, bad or something else entirely - and democracy - with its triumphs, failures and exclusions. Now, as always, our task is to be skeptical while reflexive, ever hopeful. We are excited to feature authors who are invested in the possibilities and pitfalls that surround democracy to help us build spaces for necessary, if difficult engagement."
The editors welcome projects about the power and limits of communication and works that advance conversations about governance, resistance, control and revolution. The series welcomes submission of a wide range of projects, from monographs and edited volumes to more public-facing books, especially those that center neglected or marginalized archives and conversations.
The series' inaugural volume, "The Pink Scar: How Nazi Persecution Shaped the Struggle for LGBTQ+ Rights," was published in October 2025. The book explores how some victims of the Nazi regime were among the most important and the most contested symbols in the history of lesbian and gay rights movement - perhaps even more contested than the pink triangle itself, according to Flores and Olson. It aims to shows how, nearly 100 years after Adolf Hitler came to power, remembering the people persecuted by his regime is once again essential for defending LGBTQ+ rights in a new age of growing fascism and anti-queer/trans oppression, they added.
As a component of the University community, Penn State University Press reflects many of the University's academic strengths in the liberal arts. Overall, the press publishes about 90 books and 80 journal titles - approximately 175 issues - annually. Titles published under the Penn State University Press imprint include academic publications by researchers around the world in a number of fields and disciplines for a global readership. Those under the Eisenbrauns imprint include academic books about the languages, archaeology and history of the ancient Near East. The Graphic Mundi imprint includes graphic novels for popular audiences that speak to social, environmental and contemporary cultural issues.
The press also develops publications about Pennsylvania, both scholarly and popular, that aim to enhance interest in the region and spread awareness of the commonwealth's history, culture and environment.
